


Three People

by xslytherclawx



Series: Cat Café Universe [10]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Jewish Character, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Yuri is a Cat Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-17 06:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: Otabek Altin was one of three people who didn't annoy Yuri Plisetsky to no end.or: Otabek comes to visit in the off-season.(Set May 2017, canon compliant as of publication)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a three-part fic, but all in all it's pretty short (about 3000 words total).  
> Takes place a few weeks after Saturday Night Skype, but it's not entirely necessary to read that to understand this.

Yuri wasn’t particularly happy to be back in St. Petersburg, but he’d known that his trip to Moscow for Passover had only been for the holiday. He’d stayed an extra week, which had really been pushing it, and had honestly only been granted because he’d won gold at the GPF, but he’d always known that he’d need to go back eventually. He’d complained to Otabek about it over one of their Saturday night Skype conversations, and his best friend had cheered him up by reminding him that he was coming to visit a week after Yuri got back to Petersburg. And, because Otabek had wanted to meet Pyotya  _ and _ Ded, they were going to take a weekend trip down to Moscow together. Which was, frankly, even better.

Yuri made sure to meet his friend at the airport. Unfortunately, Yuri’s Angels were worse than ever after he’d won the Grand Prix Finals, so Yuri was forced to take a taxi rather than public transit, like he usually preferred. He also put on sunglasses and a plain black hoodie for good measure. It was worth it for Beka, though, and it wasn’t as if Yuri was going to hole himself up in his house for the whole off-season.

He didn’t bother telling the cab driver to wait for him; he went inside of the airport and found Beka’s gate. He was early, so he pulled out his phone and scrolled through twitter and instagram. Beka texted him when he was at baggage claim, and Yuri started keeping an eye out for his friend.

He spotted him a few minutes later, and ran up to him. “Beka!”

A smile broke out on Otabek’s face. “Yura! Hey! You didn’t have to meet me at the gate!”

Yuri waved him off. “I wasn’t going to let you get mobbed. Come on; let’s get a cab.” He grabbed one of Beka’s bags before he could protest. He walked side-by-side with his friend out of the airport to hail a cab.

“Yakov doesn’t mind that you’re visiting,” he said, “as long as I keep going to practise – and of course I’m going to practise, because Victor’s coming back, and Katsudon’s still skating, and this’ll probably be Chris’s last season, so I need to be in peak condition.” He felt his face flush. “I probably ate too much fried food with Ded last month…”

“Did you keep kosher for passover? The lack of bread would probably counteract the fried food.”

Yuri grinned. “I knew we were friends for a reason. But I stayed for an extra week, and I think Ded did his best to make up for all the matzoh.” 

Otabek laughed. “I can see the problem, then. But you look fine.”

“Apparently last year, Victor had to train Katsudon for months just to get his weight down,” Yuri said. “I’m never letting myself get like that.”

“Do you have a natural tendency to gain weight easily? It’s pretty easy to tell.”

“Never knew my dad, remember? For all I know he’s a fucking fatass. Mom was pretty skinny, though, from what I remember. Still, I’ve gotta make sure I’m in shape.” He hailed them a cab and helped Otabek put his bags in the trunk. They slid into the back seat together, and Yuri gave the driver his address. “At least I’m just living with Yakov this year and not him  _ and _ Lilia.”

“Was she really that harsh?”

“Yeah,” Yuri said. “But without her, I wouldn’t have won gold.” He shrugged. “Besides, she and Yakov were disgusting.”

Otabek’s eyebrows shot up. “ _ Oh _ ?”

“They used to be married,” Yuri said, hoping that that sufficed. “Anyway, we’re talking about something less gross. You’ll be sleeping in my room, but Yakov bought a futon for us – I figured we could take turns. It’s not huge, but then neither are we.”

Otabek nodded. “Okay.”

“And I have to go to the rink to practise, but you can come with me. You brought your skates, right?”

Otabek nodded again. “Yeah. They’re in my checked bag.”

Yuri grinned. “Great! Then we can shove it in Victor and Katsudon’s face how hard a season they’re gonna have! Especially Victor! Asshole still thinks it’ll be easy to make a comeback after a year.”

“What about Pyotya?”

The mention of his precious cat’s name had Yuri at attention. “She lives with me at Yakov’s. She has her own bed, but she likes to sleep with me, wherever that is. She might wake us up some mornings if we try to sleep in, but it depends.” He pulled out his phone and quickly found a picture of Pyotya on the futon. “She decided to help break it in this morning.”

“I bet she’s even cuter in person,” Otabek said.

“You have  _ no idea, _ Beka. Prepare to fall in love. Pyotya steals men’s hearts left and right.” Yuri looked over to his friend – since when were he and Otabek the same height? – and he couldn’t quite place the expression on his face.

“Okay,” Beka said. “I’m prepared to fall in love.”

Yuri grinned. “Good. Because you need to be prepared.”

They made easy conversation the rest of the way to the apartment, and Yuri paid the driver and helped Otabek bring his bags up. He unlocked the door to find Pyotya standing in the foyer.

“Hi, Pyotya, princess!” Yuri greeted. He picked the ever-pliant cat up and brought her over to Otabek. “This is Beka, he’s as awesome as we are, and he’ll be staying with us for a couple of weeks.”

Otabek delicately extended a hand for the cat to sniff, which she did, and then petted her.

“So?” said Yuri. “You’re in love, right?” He stared at his cat, the light of his life.

“Yeah,” Otabek said quietly. “Totally in love.”

Yuri turned to his friend and grinned. “She’s the  _ best _ . Come on; I’ll show you our room, and then we can order in and watch a movie!”

Otabek followed him, making sure the door was locked behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As before, Ded = Dedushka = Grandpa.  
> If you didn't read the previous one (and don't know much about Passover), Kosher For Passover is different from kosher in general, and is a lot more strict and completely bans all leavened products which, yes, includes pirozhki. So Yuri's Dedushka felt bad about it and stuffed him with fried pirozhki as soon as he was able.  
> Yuri is a Cat Dad and no one can convince me otherwise.  
> Beka is totally in love with Yuri who is an oblivious baby (okay, oblivious angry teen who is just so happy to have a Real Friend who's as cool as Otabek).


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Otabek realises that maybe spending two weeks sharing a room with the guy you've been in love with for the past five years is not the greatest idea he's ever had.  
> (They watch a movie)

Otabek was royally _screwed_. He didn’t _think_ Yuri was fucking with him; why would he do that? But as it stood, Yuri was currently curled up against him on his bed, and they were watching _Le Chat du rabbin_ on Yuri’s laptop, with Pyotya lying across their laps.

“The cat reminds me of you, Yura,” Otabek said quietly.

Yuri laughed. “Can you imagine if Pyotya could talk?”

Otabek grinned. “She’d be worse than you.”

Yuri grinned back at him. Otabek felt his heart pound in his chest and hoped that Yuri didn’t notice. This was the happiest he’d felt in _months_ , since he’d gotten up the nerve to talk to Yuri again after so many years.

When the Russian painter started talking, Yuri actually laughed. “We’re not supposed to understand Russian, huh?”

“I think it’s supposed to be confusing,” Otabek agreed.

“It’s easier to understand than the French,” Yuri protested. “But since the Rabbi had to take a test… shouldn’t they be speaking Arabic or Hebrew, or something?”

“It’s a French film,” Otabek said. “They probably speak French so we can understand them.”

Yuri settled a little bit more against Otabek’s chest. “I _guess_ ,” he said.

Otabek put an arm around Yuri before he even realised what he was doing. Yuri stiffened for a moment. _Shit, shit, shit_.

But then Yuri seemed to relax. “You know, Beka,” he hummed.

“Hm?”

“You’re one of three people in the whole world who don’t annoy me.”

Otabek furrowed his brows. So him, and another was obviously Yuri’s grandfather… but who else _was_ there? They’d talked more than enough to know that both Victor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki annoyed Yuri to no end. Yakov and Lilia annoyed him, too.

Who else was there? Georgi? That was laughable. Georgi annoyed _everyone_ with his heartbroken act. JJ was also a definite _no_ ; Otabek found him annoying, and he knew for a fact that Yuri did _not_ share JJ’s view that they were friendly competitors. Chris was way too sexual, and he’d heard Yuri complain about him before. There was that one Thai skater, but he was friends with Katsuki, so that was almost definitely not the third person (besides, when would Yuri have talked to him enough to know?).

There was Mila, his rinkmate, but, no, Yuri complained about her, too, in the same way Otabek complained about his older sister (only louder and more frequently, because it was Yuri). She _definitely_ annoyed Yuri. He supposed he could know Georgi’s ex, but the girl had to be ten years older than him, at least, so Otabek didn’t think that was it.

“Beka?” There was definitely an edge to Yuri’s voice.

He meant to say something smooth, or reassuring, but instead he blurted, “Who’s the third person?”

Yuri rolled his eyes and gestured to his cat. “Pyotya, _obviously_. It’s you and Ded and Pyotya. Although not necessarily in that order. Pyotya is my princess.”

Pyotya was a cat, not a person. But Otabek knew better than to argue. “Well,” he said, clearing his throat, a teasing lilt in his voice. “I’m honored to be among such esteemed ranks.”

“Shut up, asshole, I’m trying to watch. You said this Ashkenazi painter punches a racist colonialist. I don’t want to miss that.”

“It’s later in the film,” Otabek said, but he quieted down and tried to watch the movie, but, really, his focus kept drifting back to Yuri. He really had never stood a chance, but then… a year ago, he would never have imagined that he’d be watching a movie with Yuri Plisetsky, let alone while cuddled up close to him in his bed.

They finished the movie, and Yuri didn’t make any move to, well, _move_. “I think Pyotya would make a good Jewish cat,” he said. “She argues with me enough.”

Otabek chuckled. “The most essential part of Judaism.”

“Hey, _that_ cat argued with everyone, too. And Pyotya’s as devoted to me as the cat in the movie was to his girl. But who doesn’t name their cat?” He huffed, turning his head so that his ear was against Otabek’s chest.

Otabek hoped Yuri couldn’t hear his heart pounding. Or that Yuri assumed he had some kind of heart problem. “I don’t know,” he said instead of addressing what was really on his mind. “How long did it take you to think of Pyotya’s name?”

“I knew when I saw her. She just _looks_ like a Puma Tiger Scorpion, doesn’t she?” He scratched the cat behind her ears.

“Absolutely,” Otabek agreed. “She exudes the whole… vicious predator vibe.”

Yuri laughed. “Nah, she’s a spoiled princess. But she has a badass name. You should’ve seen her as a kitten. She was the actual cutest thing in the whole world.”

“I believe it.” He reached down to pet the cat, who was really _very_ soft and sweet.

The door flew open and Mila Babicheva came in. “Yakov let me in! We’re getting dinner together! Thought you might wanna join us!” She used the plural вы rather than the singular ты, so Otabek knew she knew she was inviting the both of them, but he still couldn’t help but be annoyed at the interruption.

Instantly, Yuri’s calm and relaxed demeanor was gone, and he shot up. “Don’t just barge in without knocking, you old hag!”

Otabek sat up, too, and closed the computer. “We ate only about an hour ago,” he said.

“Then drinks,” Mila said. “Unless you two want alone time…”

“Ugh,” Yuri groaned. “Don’t be so perverted. We’re not like Victor and Katsudon!”

“ _Well_ ,” Mila said. “Since _you_ weren’t at practise today, you didn’t hear. Georgi got a new girlfriend. And she’s coming to dinner. Don’t you want to see what kind of person she is?”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Probably no worse than the men you date.”

Mila pouted and crossed her arms. “Yura, that’s not _fair_. Come _on_.”

Otabek watched Yuri’s face as he slowly realised that Mila was _not going away_. Yuri turned to him. “Do you mind?”

He shook his head. “I kind of want to see if Victor and Katsuki are as annoying as you say they are. I’ve barely spoken to them.”

“Oh, they are,” Mila confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "we're not supposed to understand the russian" was exactly my thought the first time i saw it when the painter started talking and the burned-in subs disappeared. joke's on joann sfar because i understood the russian.  
> (le chat du rabbin is an amazing movie and i love it so much)  
> For those who don't know, Ashkenazi in this context, in the simplest form possible, refers to mostly Eastern European Jews (although not always). Most Russian and Eastern European Jews are Ashkenazi. This felt, to me, a more natural way to have Yuri describe the (nameless!!!) painter rather than "Soviet Jewish" or "Russian Jewish", especially since other (Jewish, sephardic) characters do refer to him as, like, basically "that one Ashkenazi guy".


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mila drags Yuri and Otabek out to join the Russian Skating Squad for dinner. It goes about how you'd expect.

If he were honest, Yuri was kind of grateful for Mila’s interruption. Otabek was his best friend, and while the movie was playing, he hadn’t fully realised how _weird_ it was to be cuddled up close to him like that. He must have freaked him out. And that was _not_ how he wanted to start his two weeks with his best friend.

Having a long-distance best friend was _hard_ , especially since Almaty was three hours ahead of Petersburg and Moscow, and they both spent most of their time at the rink. [1] Even while Yuri was on vacation, visiting Ded, he still had to coordinate with Beka just to _talk_.

Add on to that that Yuri and Beka had never spent that much time together before, and… Yuri _really_ didn’t want to fuck anything up.

He said goodbye to Pyotya with a kiss on her head and a chicken treat, and then he walked side-by-side with Otabek, behind Mila, to the metro. Yuri realised, belatedly, that he should have grabbed some sunglasses, but despite being out with _Otabek Altin_ and _Mila Babicheva_ , no one approached him or even called his name. It was nice.

It was two stops until Mila signalled that they were to get off. “You know, last year, I made the mistake of assuming the metro in Paris was anything like Russian metros. It wasn’t.” [2]

Yuri made some comment about Paris without even really paying attention as he and Beka followed her to the restaurant. The two old men were already inside, all over each other, and Georgi was there with a girl who Yuri could only _assume_ was his new girlfriend.

“We have a surprise visitor!” Mila called as she rushed over to the table.

Yuri stalked slowly to the table, already regretting agreeing to come.

“Is Otabek really a surprise visitor when we knew he was coming today to spend two weeks with Yurio?” Victor asked.

Yuri rolled his eyes. “The old hag broke into my room and demanded we come.”

Mila found her seat, and Yurio intentionally sat between her and Otabek. He knew she thought he was attractive, and Yuri didn’t want his best friend to become another one of Mila’s exes.

“Can we speak English for Yuuri?” Victor asked, kissing his fiancé’s cheek.

Yuri rolled his eyes again. “I can speak slow. How’s he expect to get by in Russia if he speaks English the whole time?”

“Yurio has a point,” Katsudon said.

“ _Don’t_ call me that.” It was useless at this point, but he didn’t want Otabek getting any ideas. Mila was already trying the nickname on for size, and that was _more_ than enough.

Katsudon at least had the decency to blush. “Sorry, Yuri.” He didn’t _look_ sorry, and Yuri was sure it’d happen again, but he didn’t press. And hey, their entire exchange had been in Russian.

He shot a pointed look at Otabek, even though Victor and Katsudon hadn’t even _started_ , not really. He turned to Georgi. “Were you planning on introducing us?”

“Oh!” Georgi said. “This is Natalia Vasilievna Shagina.”

Yuri wracked his brain. “I don’t know that name.” He turned to Georgi’s girlfriend. “Do you skate?”

She shook her head. “No; I didn’t even know Georgi was a skater when we met!”

Yuri turned back to Georgi. “Since when do you have free time? You’re competing next season.”

“We’d always get coffee from the same café. I thought… after Anya, maybe I shouldn’t date another skater for a while.”

That wasn’t a terrible idea, and it had the added bonus of not having to wonder if he’d have to deal with her on the rink, too, being disgusting like Victor and Katsudon. Yuri said as much, and the fucking old bastards didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed; they just got more disgusting and babbled on about needing to win gold to get married. Yuri rolled his eyes and ordered a vodka.

He didn’t miss Mila, Victor, and Georgi’s looks. Fortunately, no one said anything and he was able to get his vodka without any trouble. [3] He knew his limits. He wasn’t going to get drunk.

He and Otabek ended up getting dessert in the end, after explaining that they’d eaten only an hour before Mila had barged in, and just to shove it in their faces, Yuri made extra sure not to get drunk and stuck with water for the rest of the night.

Around nine, Georgi and his girlfriend excused themselves, settling their tab. Victor and Katsudon followed not long after, giggling the whole time, like they weren’t grown-ass men and like the trio of teenagers at the table couldn’t figure out what they were so excited about.

“Were they disgusting, or what?” Yuri asked Otabek after it was just the three of them.

“They didn’t seem _that_ bad… besides… I like their story.”

“You’ll change your mind when you see them tomorrow,” Mila said. “They’re worse on the rink, because it’s just us, so they think they’ve got a free pass.”

Yuri nodded in agreement. “And _what_ story?”

“The one they told in Barcelona.” Otabek didn’t speak further, but Yuri knew what he meant. Katsudon having a disgusting crush on Victor for years and only working up the nerve to talk to him drunk at the banquet, and Victor falling head over heels for _some reason_ , and then getting depressed when Katsudon didn’t call, eventually flying out to Japan to become Katsudon’s coach.

“I almost didn’t get my fucking choreography for my short program because that asshole was so head over heels,” Yuri sneered.

“I’m sure I’ll see how gross they are tomorrow,” Otabek promised him.

Mila kept hanging around, clearly trying to get to Otabek alone, and it was fucking _annoying_. He said as much to Otabek later after they got back to Yakov’s apartment.

“Why would she want to speak to me alone?” Otabek asked.

“I think she has a stupid crush on you,” Yuri said, pulling off his shirt and rummaging through his wardrobe for pyjamas. He’d tried to clean for Otabek, but the inside of his wardrobe was still a total, disorganised mess.

“I’m not interested in her,” Beka assured him. “If she gets me alone, I’ll tell her that.”

Yuri found a baggy old band shirt and some sweatpants at the bottom of his wardrobe and quickly changed into them. “Good,” he said. “Mila is a fucking soulless hag.”

He intentionally avoided his gaze as Beka changed into pyjamas. It was just being polite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 Can confirm having a long distance best friend is hard, although I imagine it's worse when you have feelings for them. But I studied abroad in Germany (+6 hour time difference) for a year and a half. It's a bigger distance than Russia and Kazakhstan, but I also wasn't particularly busy, either, not like Yuri and Otabek are. [return to text]  
> 2 1\. We're saying Mila competed in the Trophée de France. There's nothing that contradicts it.  
> 2\. The Parisian metro is efficient and like the most expansive in the world iirc, but it's not pretty. [Interior](http://ktransit.com/transit/Europe/France/Paris/Metro/Stations/Photos/par-hr-interior-031809-01.jpg), [Exterior](http://pre04.deviantart.net/9807/th/pre/i/2013/071/9/e/paris_metro_train_by_rlkitterman-d5xsdsl.jpg), [Station (one)](http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010/07/03/mm7883_010416_00042_slide-996d695a11f5004e756ae045ea445ab28d853dc9-s900-c85.jpg), [Station (two)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Metro_Paris_-_Ligne_12_-_Station_Pasteur_-_MF_67.jpg).  
> By comparison, the Russian metro system is beautiful and very clean. (The following _should_ all be St. Petersburg, too). [Interior](http://www.omnibus.ru/omnibus/9-10_2009/foto24.jpg), [Exterior](http://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/imagelibrary/Archive/nri/railway/news/six-carriage%20metro%20train.jpg), [Station (one)](http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/Avoto-Metro-Station-StPetersburg-Russia-1020x610.jpg), [Station (two)](http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/images/saint-petersburg-metro.jpg), [Station (three)](http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/12/Novocherkasskaya-Station-StPetersburg-Russia-1020x610.jpg).  
>  I mean, technically, making the stations in St Petersburg and Moscow so pretty was a huge propaganda project of Stalin's, but according to everyone I know who's ever been (including some people native to those cities), they're also, like, the cleanest metro stations in the world to this day. [return to text]  
> 3 Apparently the legal age to purchase alcohol in Russia is 18.  
> Yuuri is just like "eh well it's Russia I guess they'll let a sixteen year old buy vodka in a restaurant", so he's not among those shooting Yuri a Look. Victor, Mila, and Georgi all know better. [return to text]  
> 


	4. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus chapter!  
> The next day at the rink, Victor and Yuuri talk to Yuri.  
> Meanwhile, Mila finally gets Otabek alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the last chapter was the end, but I ended up writing this bonus scene, too.

The next day at the rink, Yuri couldn’t help but notice that the old men were acting _weird_. They kept _looking_ at him and at Otabek, too. After a few hours of this, Yuri skated over to the old assholes.

“What do you keep looking at, you assholes? I’m trying to practise!”

It was Katsudon who spoke. “Otabek’s a good guy,” he said, in Russian, and puffed with pride like it was such a hard sentence to say; it was three words, and one of those words was Otabek’s _name_.  [1]

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “The fuck is this cryptic bullshit? He’s my best friend; of course he’s a good guy! And he’s super cool and badass, too! Much better than you two losers!”

Victor smiled at him, fucking patronising bastard. “Don’t worry, Yuri. We approve.”

“Approve of what? Me having friends?”

The two old men exchanged looks, which only annoyed Yuri more. “He has a calming influence on you,” Victor said. “He’ll be good for you. It’s just a shame he lives so far away, but then… so did Yuuri.”

Yuri gagged. “I don’t know what you two old men are on about. Otabek and I are best friends.”

Victor and Katsudon both had him fixed with a look that unnerved him to say the least.

“Fuck this,” Yuri said. “I’m taking a break. You two old men better leave me alone, and Otabek, too.”

He skated off, and was so annoyed that he didn’t notice that Mila had cornered Beka.

“Hey,” she said to him, voice low and sultry.

Otabek, however, was distracted. “Mila, you know Yura, right? You’re friends?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mila said.

“Is he single?” Upon realising what he said, Otabek’s hand flew to his mouth. “I mean… does he talk about me, or… ugh,” he groaned, running his hands through his hair.

“ _Oh_ ,” Mila said. “How long has this been going on? Since Barcelona, or is it more recent?”

Otabek shook his head, feeling his face heat up. “Before… Barcelona.”

Mila furrowed her brows. “Is this some… celebrity crush, or something?”

“No!” Otabek nearly shouted, and he looked around for Yuri, who was nowhere to be seen. “We… I had a ballet class with him, when we were younger.”

“Oh my _god_ ,” MIla practically squealed. “That is so _precious_. And you’re a good guy – you’ll balance him out. Okay. I’m in.”

“In what?”

“Helping you win Yura over, obviously. And yes, he’s single, and he talks about you, like, all the time.”

Otabek felt pleasantly warm. “Really?”

“We just need to get him to realise it. We’ve got two weeks while you’re here, and then… he’s visiting you in Almaty, right?”

Yuri had told her about that? Otabek nodded. “In July.” It was farther away than Otabek had hoped for, but they were both really busy.

“If nothing happens before then, we’ll come up with a plan. Here, give me your phone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 "Otabek is a good guy" in Russian is just like "Отабек - хороший человек." so, not a complex sentence by any means, but hey, Russian's hard, and Yuuri's allowed to be proud of himself. [return to text]  
> 


End file.
